


If You Die in the Game ...

by ParvumAutomaton



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: But it's a simulation, Gen, MAJOR CHARACTERS DIE, Or so the team assumes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-29
Updated: 2018-07-29
Packaged: 2019-06-18 06:19:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15479487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ParvumAutomaton/pseuds/ParvumAutomaton
Summary: Several younger members of the team find themselves in an unending maze based on a video game, being chased by a pop culture monster. It's obviously a second attempt at the disastrous simulation the original team did in year one.Isn't it?





	If You Die in the Game ...

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to Weirdowhotalkstoofast (babblingweirdnonsense on tumblr) for letting me brainstorm ideas and providing support during the writing process.

The sound of heavy metal doors slamming together reverberated across the tall white tile room that Virgil found himself in along with Jaime, Cassie, Bart, La’gaan, and Tye. 

It was Tye who broke the silence once the reverberation stopped.

“What was that thing?”

Jaime shrugged and said “ _no sé,_ ” almost too softly for Virgil to hear.

Still after he spoke, La’gaan turned to Jaime and waited, looking intently at the legs of the scarab wrapped around Jaime’s armor. Before the silence could drag La’gaan spoke.

“What about the bug? Does it have anything?”

“No. Nothing.” Jaime answered shaking his head. 

“So probably not an alien. Since last time we were on a squad and it was unknown aliens you were already speaking Krolotean,” La’gaan said, turning away from Jaime, who was staring intently at his arm, to face Cassie. “Wonder Girl does it look mythological?”

“Not particularly...” Cassie answered with a shrug.

“It kinda reminds me of the smoke monster,” Bart cut in. “You know from that show on the island.”

Cassie looked at him, “When did you have time to watch-”

“Not watch,” Bart answered quickly, “speed read the wiki.”

Virgil turned away from La’gaan rubbing his temples as Cassie and Bart went back and forth about pop culture wikis, and turned back towards Tye and Jaime.

“Hey cheer up man,” Tye said while Jaime tapped expectantly at his own arm, “you’re not the only one that has nothing on it.”

Jaime shook his head. “You don’t get it. I never have  _ nothing _ . The Scarab always has something to say...”

“So the silence isn’t a good sign?” Virgil asked.

“No,” Jaime answered looking at him. “The only thing that I can think is that they are either scared or hurt.”

Tye and Virgil caught each other's eyes. Virgil gave Tye a sheepish grin, and Tye gave him a hard glare, that reminded Virgil very clearly of an earlier conversation with Tye where he said ‘if Jaime doesn’t have an issue with the scarab post Reach then I-we don’t either, got it?’

“Alright chums,” La’gaan said, raising his voice and standing between the two groups that the team had split into, “we can’t sit around this room all day.”

Tye snorted. “Where else are we going to go? Back in with that thing?”

Jaime put his hand on Tye’s shoulder, “No, Lagoon Boy’s right. There has to be a second way out of here.” 

Tye raised an eyebrow at Jaime. Virgil could hear the unspoken ‘has to be?’ as clear as day.

Jaime rubbed the back of his neck. “Okay right. But there could be a secret passage or something. And I know that I really don’t want to fight that thing. Not now with the Scarab being weird.”

While he spoke Virgil scanned the room for any hint of electrical current. It didn’t take him long to spot something, 8 or 9 feet up the wall that looked like it could control something at least vaguely door shaped.

“I don’t think you’ll have to,” he said, jumping when he felt the wind from Bart’s movement rustle his hair.

Before Virgil could blink he saw Bart where he was looking, standing on a ledge initially hidden from his view by the angle and repetitive white tiles of the room. Behind Bart he could also make out the top of a waist high passageway slowly opening.

“Ta Da,” Bart said with a flourish. “Box plus button equals a way out. I’ll check it out to make sure it’s safe.”

Before anyone else on the team could saw a thing Bart had raced down the passageway. His call of ‘it’s safe’ met Virgil’s ears at the same time the sound of a buzzer and the rotating of metal gears.

It was Jaime who reacted first, forming his staple gun and firing it into the metal doors. The staple caught and bent slightly before the gears within the doors ground to a screeching halt. The doors had only opened a sliver, but that was enough for the inky darkness that made up the smoke monster to start to seep in.

“Move!” La’agaan shouted.

Virgil turned to Tye, who was already growing. He jumped onto one of Tye’s large hands, and as he was carried up, saw Cassie carrying La’gaan to the same platform. After depositing Virgil, Tye began to shrink and clutched onto the side of the wall until Virgil grabbed his hand and pulled him onto the ledge. 

As soon as he set foot on the ledge La’gaan began waving each of them through the passage. Virgil let Cassie float down the smooth passageway before crawling into it himself. He was grateful that he did so when he reached the end and found that it dropped off three feet to the floor of the white tile room. A drop off that Cassie gracefully helped him down from. Virgil took a few steps to leave room in front of the passage and then watched as Cassie helped Tye down and then when he moved out of the way, La’gaan down as well. But La’gaan did not move to make room at the passage entrance, and Virgil was miffed until he heard La’gaan shout. 

“Blue! Come on.”

Virgil looked down the passageway. Jaime was not right behind them. But rather he was still in the air, facing the metal doors, firing his sonic cannon. And from what Virgil could see it was effective, no smoke was seeping through the creak in the door where he was firing. 

“It’s getting through the top, hurry!” Bart shouted.

Crouching slightly, Virgil’s heart sank. He could see that Bart was right, that the smoke monster was slipping into the room through the top of the crack in the door. He could see the smoke monster slipping past Jaime.

Jaime jerked his head and then his cannon up, but it was too late, the tendrils of the smoke monster were already starting to slip down towards the passageway.

Jaime’s thrusters activated. La’gaan pulled Bart and Virgil away from the exit of the passageway. But no Jaime came rocketing through.

Rather Virgil head the sound of a large box hitting the ground. And as the passageway began to slowly close, he saw Jaime slam his shield over the shrinking opening, blocking it from the smoke monster and himself.

“JAIME!”

Tye’s cry was heartbreaking. But Jaime didn’t move his shield. He didn’t rocket down the rapidly closing passageway.

All Virgil could do was listen to the sound of Jaime’s sonic cannon. A choked, painful scream, as Jaime’s shield was ripped away from the passageway now no larger than a fist. And then, just before the passage closed, the loudest silence he had ever heard.

Tye slammed both fists into the wall. “JAIME!”

He leaned forward, head touching the wall. “Jaime, please...”

He fell silent, sliding down the wall. Shoulders shaking, tears gathering at the corner of his eyes.

Bart moved towards Tye. Slower than Virgil had ever seen him move, hand outstretched but not quite touching Tye’s shoulder.  

Tye whipped his head around to glare at Bart. “Don’t just stand there. Do something,” He hissed. “You were the one that got him stuck by triggering the door.” 

Bart jerked back. “I can vibrate through the wall and pull him out.” He said softly. 

La’gaan put his hand on Bart. “No.”

Tye shifted his glare to La’gaan. “What do you mean ‘no’?”

La’gaan clenched both fists, grimacing. But when he spoke it was directed towards Bart and in a soft tone.

“What’s the thickest material you’ve ever pulled someone through?”

“A couple of inches, but-”

“We can’t lose anyone else,” La’gaan said firmly.

Tye turned away and pressed his face into the wall.

“Tye,” Virgil said, placing his hand softly on his shoulder. 

Tye shrugged off the contact.

Virgil looked away and caught Cassie’s eye. He didn’t know what he expected her to do, but crouching next to Tye wasn’t it.

“When Blue took out the team on Warworld, there was nothing that we could do that even touched him.” She said softly.

“So what? That thing is so scary that even the big bad Blue can’t take it. Therefore I need to just, what, forget mourning for Jaime, and focus on the team? Is that it?”

“No,” Cassie answered. “I mean, yeah it’s a gas so it’s probably hard for Blue to fight. But his armor is tough, so it’s probably even harder for Smokey to get through the armor.”

La’gaan nodded. “Our goal right now is to get out, and get help for Blue. Unless anyone has a working comm?”

When no one else spoke up Virgil said, “there might be a computer or something that could get a signal out?”

And La’gaan’s agreement was followed by Cassie’s disappointed, “Not in this room, just another box and button.”

La’gaan looked at the box in her hand. He nodded and said, “Do it.”

Cassie did so, and another passageway opened up, it was the same size as the first one, and like the exit of the first passage, this entrance was about three feet above the ground. No one made a move for it, even Bart who seemed to be held in place by the glare that Tye was giving him.

“We have to keep moving,” La’gaan said, “Wonder Girl lead the way, and be careful not to touch anything.”

“Right,” Cassie answered quickly. She floated down the passage and waited at the end, and Virgil could tell by the way that her head lazily bobbed that she was hovering 

Virgil entered the passageway next, bracing his hands against the smooth tile walls to pull himself up. Once he was up he turned, pressing one hand against the stone and held his other out to Tye.

“Come on dude.”

Tye didn’t take his hand, but did climb up behind him in the passageway. So Virgil started crawling. He continued as he heard La’gaan and then Bart enter the tunnel behind him. 

For most of the length of the passage, nothing interesting happened, but as he neared the end a flash of static and blue light stopped him.

“What was that?” Virgil asked.

Cassie twisted to look at the group. “What?”

“The light,” Virgil answered.

“What light?” Tye asked.

Virgil turned back to face Tye and the rest of the team, pressing his hand against the tile to push himself far enough around to see them.

“No one saw that?”

Everyone shook their heads. And Virgil grimaced and turned back towards the exit of the passageway. But when he pulled his hand away from the wall, the wall was no longer smooth. The walls were covered in symbols. He crawled quickly to the exit and let Cassie help him down.

“Everyone did see the hieroglyphics though, right?” He asked.

“Really? How’d I miss that? ” Cassie asked peering down the passageway before pouting. “Wait that’s _not_ funny.”

“Pranks, really? Now?” Tye hissed to Virgil as Cassie helped him down. “Jaime could be dying. Jaime could be dead and you’re playing pranks?”

“No,” Virgil protested, but when he looked back down the passageway the wall was clear. The only hint that they had been there at all was the slowly fading indent of a scarab on his palm.

“Drop it chums,” La’gaan said firmly as Cassie helped him down, “Just find the cube and the button.”

Bart found the button easily, but it was Virgil who eventually found the cube, sitting on a small ledge above their heads. Climbing up was not in the picture but before he called over the rest of the team, and got Tye more upset for wasting time, he tried moving it on his own. And it worked, the cube, dark gray with light gray raised edges, corners, and a circle in the center of each face, came down easily enough. He levitated it in front of him.

Virgil noticed two things at the same time. One was how familiar this felt, and the other was that instead of a heart or an aperture, each face of the cube held a blue scarab.

He raced to give the box to La’gaan before turning to Tye.

“What type of video games does Jaime like?”

Tye narrowed his eyes in response. “What the HELL man? Now?”

“Sorry.”

“No not ‘sorry’. Jaime could be dead and you’re thinking about video games?”

La’gaan stepped between Virgil and Tye. “The next passage is open. Let’s move.”

“Why?” Tye hissed, turning his glare to La’gaan.

“To find an exit or some form of communication.” La’gaan answered, “So we can get help for Blue.”

“You don’t know him like I do. That scream-” Tye cut himself off. “We don’t have time for pranks or games or aimless wandering.”

“Neptune’s Beard! Do you really think just standing here is going to help more?”

Tye didn’t say anything, he just turned away from La’gaan and sat against the wall.

Virgil looked between La’gaan who was biting his lip, and Tye who was resolutely not looking at the team.

“Go,” he said to La’gaan. “We’ll catch up.”

“And if that thing comes though?”

Virgil reached with his power to the block in the previous room, pushing it so that it fell off the button and closed the passage.

“We’ll be fine.”

La’gaan nodded and joined Cassie and Bart in moving through the new passageway. This one was tall enough for them to walk through .

Virgil watched them leave before sitting on the floor next to Tye. Sitting on the smooth tile it felt like the entire room was slanted towards the recently opened passageway. But Virgil didn’t didn’t say anything. He just sat in silence until Tye spoke.

“Halo,” He said softly, prompting Virgil to look over at Tye.  “And well, first person shooters in general.”

“What about first person shooter puzzles?”

Tye shrugged. “I dunno, maybe. Why?”

“It’s just -”

Virgil blinked as a flash of blue light interrupted him. 

“Are you-” Tye started before Virgil cut him off.

“Something’s not right.”

The words were barely out of Virgil’s mouth before the passageway opened again and Black smoke started to seep in. 

“Run!”

Tye followed Virgil’s order and sprinted down the narrow passageway. Virgil followed him closely, stopping momentarily to look down the passage. He saw the block and as he moved it off of the button, the scarab on the box glowed blue momentarily and the box itself disintegrated. And as it did the passage itself slid closed.

Virgil took a moment to breath and look around the room. It was shorter than the others, eliminating the possibility of hidden ledges. It also had no open passage, no button and no box. The only thing that it did have was a very familiar chest height white podium with a blue line up the front and sides a fist sized red button on top.

Virgil pushed the button, a clicking sound started and another waist height passage opened. He shook his head slowly. From his own video game experience he fully expecting the increased speed of the clicking followed by the passage closing. He was not disappointed. 

“It’s on a timer, so we should do this one at a time,” Virgil said easily. “You go first.”

“No, I’m not losing another friend.”

Virgil put a hand on Tye’s shoulder and smiled. “I’ll be right behind you and if not- Dude don’t worry. I’m 99% sure this is a training simulation. I mean we’re in a freaking Portal game, being chased by the smoke monster from Lost.”

“No we’re not,” Tye said pushing him away. “It’s too real. Why would you put yourselves, put me, through this much pain for a damn simulation?”

“Not on purpose.” Virgil started. He tried to figure out the best way to explain the simulation that the original team did, what happened to it. But his thoughts were cut off by another flash of blue staticy light, which alerted him to the smoke monster pushing its way through the closed passageway behind him.

“Catch up to the team and tell them Jaime is Artemis and the bug’s Miss M, they’ll get it.” 

Virgil didn’t give time to object. He slammed his hand down on the button and pushed Tye towards the open passageway. Tye raced down it, and when the timer finished the passageway seemed to take too painfully long to close.

Virgil’s hand hovered over the button, but he hesitated. The smoke monster had almost entirely entered the room. 

The blue lines on the pedestal flashed. Virgil moved his hand away from the button. The blue lines on the pedestal flashed again, this time the flash ran from the bottom to the top of the pedestal, like it was pointing to the button.

But Virgil knew that the smoke monster was faster than he was. And he wasn’t going to be that guy that put the team in danger. It it was a simulation he’d never hear the end of it, and if it wasn’t, he was not going to be the one to open the door and let his friends get killed. 

Virgil concentrated his power on all the metal and wiring within the pedestal, the button. And with a burst of energy he made it explode.

He sighed in relief as he saw the passageway remained closed before turning to face the smoke monster that he had locked himself into a room with.

His electromagnetic force field stopped the smoke for a time. But Virgil had never had to keep it up so completely and so long. It was exhausting, even before the constant vigilance that was required to catch particles sneaking through weak points in the shield.

He held it as long as he could, going from standing to kneeling. All he could see was the dark smoke outside of his shield. All he could feel was the strain.

The shield popped.

“I really hope I’m right.” Virgil whispers as the smoke monster enveloped him.

All he could see was darkness.

All he could feel was a burning in his chest.

He couldn’t breathe.

A hand was pressed over his mouth and nose, forcing them shut. Virgil grabbed at the arm, but his fingers slipped over cool metal and he couldn’t pull it away. 

He unleashed a shock. But it barely added anything to the current that was already flowing. The current- there was a reason he didn’t ever use that current in a fight. The person holding him should be dead. 

But still they kept their hand clamped over his mouth and nose. And used their other hand to grab his arm and haul him up, over and away. 

He slid across the floor, but all he really cared about was that the hand was gone and he could breathe again. Virgil took that celebration seriously, curling in on himself to protect his face and throat while coughing.

A hand pressed itself soothingly on Virgil’s back. And he heard Jaime’s worried voice ask, “How are you feeling? Any headache, nausea, dizziness, shortness of breath?”

“I’m fine.” Virgil answered, more softly than he would have liked. He took a deep breath and continued slightly stronger. “I’d be better if someone didn’t try to strangle me.”

“Do you still feel it?”

“What?”

“Like you're being strangled?”

Virgil shook his head. “Not since you took your hand from my mouth.”

Jaime pulled Virgil up and into a hug. The hard metal of his faceplate pressed against Virgil’s neck, and his arms wrapped around Virgil’s waist holding tightly.

“I thought I lost you.” 

“I’m fine,” Virgil said trying and failing to roll his shoulders and get more room. “You know, other than the armor hug being a bit uncomfortable.”

Jaime released the hug instantly. “I’m sorry I- shit.” 

Jaime jumped to his feet and ran to a computer terminal along the wall, his hand transforming so that he was connected directly into it it.

“What’s going on?”

“Rerouting Smokey,” Jaime said in a clipped voice, not looking back at Virgil.

“So I was right. It is a simulation.”

“Yes.”

Virgil looked at Jaime focusing so intently on the computer. “You might want to turn down the realism just a bit.”

“I can’t.”

“Tye’s really upset.”

“I know,” Jaime answered softly. “But I’m thinking Tye and everyone else would feel a lot worse if 150 milliamps ran through their pods.”

“What?”

“Tampering failsafe.”

Virgil jerked back and looked around the room for the first time. At one end was the computer terminal that Jaime was hooked into. At the other was a large metal door. And along the walls between the computer and the door were six Reach pods lying on the ground, three on each side. The middle one on the right was shattered, and the closest to the door on the left was open, but the other four were still closed. With Tye, La’gaan, Bart, and Cassie inside. They each had a mask over their nose and mouth. And Virgil looked back at the shattered pod, the one he must have been taken out of. He could see the same mask in it, but the the hose connecting it to a decidedly non-Reach contraption was melted into a solid piece of plastic. As if a superheated hand had grabbed it. Which Virgil realized was probably what had happened.

“Are the Reach back?” He asked softly.

“But the pods.”

“Provide the neural interface as well as power dampening,” Jaime explained. “The simulation, the toxic gas that gets triggered when you die there, and the current produced if you mess with the pod. That’s all human tech.”

“So this isn’t a team simulation?”

“I so, _so,_ wish it was.”

Virgil couldn’t help but agree. He looked at Jaime who was still focused on the computer. He could see the power flowing from Jaime’s arm into the computer and back. 

“What are you doing now?” Virgil asked.

“Like I said, rerouting Smoky”

Virgil sighed. “Guess my sacrifice for for naught then.”

“No,” Jaime said firmly. “I mean true, it gave me the fright of my life, but it prevented Smoky from directly following the rest of the team. Now there are two paths that are being randomly generated, or well, ‘scarab-ly’ generated. They should still look random to whoever made this. But allow me to make it much harder for Smokey to catch the team.”

“I guess that makes you the best computer bug I’ve ever seen,” Virgil quipped, and Jaime smiled in response. “So what’s next?”

Jaime’s smile dropped. “I don’t know.”

“These rooms are Portal rooms right?” Virgil questioned. “There should be like an elevator or something to take them out.”

“Yeah Scarab sees it, but it can only be generated where there’s only one person left.”

“Do you think you can pull out the others like you did me?”

“Maybe,” Jaime said shrugging. “Anyone else on the team immune to electrocution?”

Virgil hesitated. He looked down at one of the pods, closest to the computer, Tye’s pod. Carefully observing it but not touching it. He could see that everything seemed to be wired together. The battery that provided the electric discharge was within the pod and wired to the glass and metal that made it up. Breaching the pod would cause that failsafe to fire. The canister to release the toxin was wired to outputs from the neural interface and inputs from where ever the wires that left the room went. Those wires must be how everyone was in the same simulation. They must link with the person running and if they did.

“What about taking down the responsible party?”

“I can’t leave this,” Jaime answered softly. “I don’t know how far away they are.”

Or how long the team will last was left unsaid but easily understood by Virgil.

“I can.”

For the first time since running to the computer, Jaime looked at Virgil. He was smiling as he whispered. “Thank you.” 

Virgil went to the other end of the room but stopped facing the door. He remembered the trap that got Jaime killed in the simulation, so before he risked opening the door he felt it. He felt the circuit that ran through the door and back into the pods, into the batteries. A circuit buried deeper in the walls than he could affect and one that would trigger each battery if opened.

“There’s a failsafe on the door too.” Virgil said trying his best to keep the disappointment out of his voice.

“We have to try something,” Jaime answered, his voice barely above a whisper. “If this keeps up everyone will die.”

Virgil agreed. But he couldn’t give up. Not yet. He just had to have more information. 

“How’d you get out?”

“We tricked the pod.”

“How?”

“This pod acted like the one that the Reach used when they first caught us. It shut down external armor and weapons. But the Scarab could still provide internal functions like translations.”

“How did that help? Did you hack the pod from the inside?”

Jaime shrugged. “Indirectly. Scarab controlled breathing, heart rate, and internal body temperature.”

“So it thought you were dead? Letting you out without releasing the toxins?”

Jaime shook his head. “The toxin is released no matter what. It’s just, you can’t breathe it in if you’re dead.”

“What?”

“Not completely dead.” Jaime clarified quickly. “It was just for like six maybe seven minutes. I’m not sure, I kinda passed out after the first few...”

Virgil noticed that Jaime had pulled his free hand up to his throat. He clutched at it as he trailed off.

“You woke up suffocating?” Virgil asked softly. And when Jaime nodded in reply he continued. “Are you okay?”

“Scarab cooled my core temperature, and optimized oxygen use,” Jaime said, not relaxing his free arm. “I’m fine.”

“Still,” Virgil said gently, “that must have been scary.”

Jaime’s response was a barely audible, “Yeah.”

Virgil put his hand on Jaime’s shoulder. He could feel the armor buzz with the electricity hundred of tiny adjustments beneath it. The intensity only diminished after Jaime took a deep breath and leaned against Virgil. It still took several more moments for the buzzing to completely fade. And only then did Jaime pull away.

“Thank you. But I’m okay, really.”

“Only because the armor compensated for your shaking.” Virgil said.

“The lives of four of our friends are in the balance. I’ll be okay until they’re out. I don’t have any other choice.”

“Yeah,” Virgil agreed softly. “So while you were- Did the bug figure out a way to hack the pods?”

“I don’t-” Jaime hesitated for a second. “No the dampener just turned off after I was dead for long enough. Then with the armor up I could disconnect the battery and open the pod from the inside. But I don’t think that’s something I can repeat for someone else.”

“I know. But maybe...” Virgil trailed off looking over at the pod Tye was lying in again. He could see the connection to the power dampener, on the outside of the pod, connected only to other Reach sensors. “I think I may have found an in.”

“What?”

“The power dampener. I can trick it into thinking the person in the pod is dead without triggering the electricity or the toxin.”

“Really-” Jaime said. He smiled wide with that word, but after he fell silent his smile dropped. “However releasing them from simulation will trigger the toxin, and opening or breaking the pod from either side before the toxin is finished will trigger the electrocution.”

“There’s got to be an answer,” Virgil sighed. “How’s the team doing?”

“Want to watch?”

“Would it distract you from that,” Virgil said gesturing to the computer.

“No. I’d actually be able to focus better knowing you could catch something I missed.”

“Alright.”

At Virgil’s word, a blue tinged projection popped into the air above Jaime. The words from that projection echoed out of Jaime’s armor, the voices were slightly tinny but still recognizable.

“Come on. We need to keep moving.” La’gaan said to Tye who was leaning against an unseen wall on the other side, and Bart and Cassie who were standing between the two of them.

“What's the point? If it is a simulation than, whatever, the sooner I die the sooner I wake up. If it isn’t, well, two of my best friends just died.” 

“Tye-” Bart started.

“Don’t” Tye hissed, cutting him off and glaring at the team.

“What?” Cassie asked, “I think you’re right. I mean ‘thinking with portals’ is great and all but fighting that smoke monster thing... Impossible odds and I can’t actually lose, sign me up.”

La’gaan pinched the bridge of his nose. “No. We are going to keep moving forward.”

“Why?” Tye snapped back at him. 

La’gaan opened his mouth once, and shut it before he took a deep breath and actually began talking.

“Bragging rights,” He said. “In the original simulation Artemis lasted about 7 minutes, Aqualad 13, Superboy 16, Kid Flash and Rob- er Nightwing 19 and Miss M 20.  Approximately. Now I don’t know about you all, but I kinda want to beat their times.”

Tye tilted his head to the side. “Show up Nightwing without even being on his team. I’ll do that.”

“Good,” Bart said smiling. He clapped Tye on the back, but Tye grabbed his hand and pushed it away.

“This doesn’t mean I don’t still blame you triggering the trap and then not vibrating through the wall to save Jaime.”

Virgil looked away from the simulation. He met Jaime’s eyes and saw Jaime’s smile that he returned.

Virgil moved quickly to the pod that was across from Tye’s, between his own broken one and the computer. He spared a moment to look at Bart’s face before kneeling at the power dampener.

“If you make the next room’s puzzle involve something that Bart needs to vibrate through, I’ll disable the dampener while he’s vibrating and he should pop right out.”

“Yeah, disabling the pod while he’s vibrating should work. 93% chance. But still...”

“It’s worth the risk.” Virgil said.

“But I can’t risk the team getting trapped in a room because Bart can’t actually hit the button. I- I also can’t risk the all the team dying because whoever is controlling this got suspicious of how he left.”

“You think someone’s watching the simulation, and they’re not suspicious of this?” Virgil asked gesturing to the room that both he and Jaime were moving around in.

“Well according to the Scarab they are monitoring both the simulation and the room,” Virgil’s eyes widened, and Jaime shrugged. “The room camera is currently just showing a static image from before my pod opened.”

“Good plan,” Virgil said smiling, “You got another?”

Jaime’s lowered his head, when he spoke his voice was soft. “Yeah.” 

Virgil focused on the power dampener, the power to disable it held in his fingertips.

He could hear Jaime audibly swallow as he asked, “ready?”

Virgil focused on the projection, the team wasn’t in the empty room yet. It only contained a button, a box, and a thick glass wall looking out on a dark room.  “As soon as Bart starts to vibrate I’ll disable the dampener.”

It was only after the door opened and the team began to enter that Virgil realized why the other room was so dark. Smokey took up a majority of it.

“Jaime!” Tye shouted.

He ran to the wall that separated the team from Smokey and then Virgil could see what he saw.  Within Smokey’s grasp was a small blue figure, Jaime’s simulated corpse, that was being thrown around like a rag doll. It was like watching the weirdest dog shake the most unsettling chew toy.

Bart was at the glass wall milliseconds later. And La’gaan shouting “don’t” didn’t stop Bart from starting to vibrate through it.

Virgil disabled the power dampener.

Bart vibrated right out of the pod, and stumbled onto the ground between the pods. He stopped, blinked, and looked at Virgil, Jaime, and the projection that showed his body stuck halfway through the glass with his head bashed in. The projection ended, and Bart rolled his eyes, and poked Jaime.

“Hah hah really funny,” He said. “Let me guess. Revenge for messing up the first trap?” 

Jaime didn’t answer Bart. He didn’t look at Bart. And Virgil could feel the small electric corrections within the armor that let him know as clear as day that Jaime was shaking. 

“That’s not it.” Virgil corrected.

“So then, why set up a trap just for me?” Bart asked before turning back to Jaime. “That’s not cool, Blue, not cool at all.”

Again, Jaime did not respond. So Virgil continued his explanation. 

“We needed you out of the simulation.”

“So then just take me out.”

“This isn’t exactly a Justice League simulation,” Virgil said. “Beetle’s doing everything he can to keep the team safe. But until we can take down whoever’s doing this...”

Bart rushed back to his pod and lowered the goggles that he had been given by Wally. He was more still than Virgil had ever seen the speedster. When he finally spoke his voice was low.

“They kill you when you die in simulation?”

“Well they try to.”

Bart’s eyes narrowed. “What do you need?”

“That door,” Virgil said pointing, “is wired to trigger electrocution of everyone in the pods when it’s opened.”

“But I can vibrate through it, no need to open.”

“Yeah.”

“On it.”

Bart was through the door in a matter of seconds. And once he had left the room Virgil walked over to Jaime and put a hand on his shoulder. He could still feel the same electric corrections, the same shaking.

“Dude, are you okay?”

Jaime didn’t look at him. When he spoke it was in a harsh whisper. “I knew exactly what to do the kill Bart I-”

Vigil squeezed Jaime’s shoulder, even if he was unsure that Jaime could feel it through the armor. “You won’t have to do it again Kid Flash will-”

“Problem,” Bart’s voice echoed from the door.

“What?” Virgil asked, still not removing his hand from Jaime’s shoulder.

“We’re under water. Like really, really, deep. And I might be fast but-”

“It’s okay.” Jaime whispered, his voice brittle. “I’m sorry I put you at risk.”

“Blue, we’re superheroes taking risks to save people, that's what we do.” Bart answered quickly. “So what’s plan B? Getting Lagoon Boy out so that he can swim?”

“He can’t get through the door,” Virgil stated.

“But I can,” Bart answered quickly. “And I can drag him with me.”

“Could you also drag him out of the pod, once the dampener is down?” Virgil said taking his position next to La’gaan’s pod, which was across from his own broken one.

“Can do,”  Bart said, joining Virgil at the pod, and crouching over it with his hand raised above the glass. “Ready, when you are.”

Jaime raised his free hand. “Hold up. I’ve got to get him into a position where his disappearance won’t be noticed.”

“You mean kill him,” Bart quipped.

Jaime looked down, and didn’t answer.

“Yeah,” Virgil responded. “So whoever is running this simulation doesn’t get suspicious and kill everyone.”

“Ohhh. Right.”

A tense silent moment passed before Jaime said. “I’m pulling up visuals.” 

Virgil looked at the underwater scene. It had a button on a pedestal at what was, the best he could tell, the end of an underwater maze. “What’s our cue?”

“Lagoon Boy pressing the button.”

Virgil watched tensely as La’gaan swam slowly up to the button. He looked at it, and Virgil felt the power gathered in his fingertips. He itched to move. But La’gaan turned away from the button. He examined the walls of the maze before leaving the button all together.

The projection split. One half remaining on the button, the other half following La’gaan as he swam back through the maze and then pulled himself out of the water and into the room where Cassie and Tye were.

“It’s a trap. Let’s see if we can find a different way through.”

Bart sighed. “What about bringing in that smoke monster? That would force them to move.”

“I can’t actually control what it does,” Jaime said. “I just you know try to make sure the easiest path leads away from the team.”

“So if it gets there and they all die.” Bart said slowly, “Who do we-”

“We’re not there yet,” Jaime said. “We’ve got a bit of time until it finds them.”

Virgil knew that was the case. But as he watched Cassie, Tye, and La’gaan search every room that they could reach in vain he couldn’t help but remember what happened to him and Tye. He couldn’t help but worry that Jaime’s buffer was being eaten away. 

It was only when La’gaan returned to the edge of the water and said, “We’ve got to keep moving forward.” That Virgil felt he could relax.

At least he could until Tye spoke.

“Listen I know you want to get the hi-score or whatever, and I want to get out, so bring me down and I’ll-”

“Sorry chum.” La’gaan answered. “I want it and all, but not enough to risk someone else’s life on the chance that we’re wrong.”

Jaime ended the split projection. The only thing that was shown now was the underwater button.

“Get ready.” Jaime said. 

Virgil didn’t need the warning, and judging by the way Bart was crouched over La’gaan’s pod, he didn’t either. 

It felt like forever to Virgil for La’gaan to appear on the projection with the button. But when he did he didn’t hesitate. His hand slammed down on the button.

Virgil deactivated the dampener.

Bart vibrated his hands through the pod, and grabbed La’gaan.

Spears shot through the water in the projection.

Bart pulled La’gaan out and onto his feet. He then let go of La’gaan and fell to the ground, sitting hunched over and breathing hard.

La’gaan blinked. He then looked to Jaime and asked, “What did I miss?”

“In the simulation? Nothing.” Jaime said softly. “I know it wasn’t fair but we had to get you out.”

Virgil watched as La’gaan visibly deflated. 

“What did I do?” He asked.

Jaime looked at him and smiled. 

“You did fantastic. It’s just- we need to find whoever is behind this. I can’t risk leaving and neither Bart nor Virgil can, you know, breathe underwater.”

Bart raised a hand. “I’ll get... you through the door.... as soon as I.... catch my breath.”

“Right,” La’gaan said glancing around the room. “Gives me time to get a rundown on the situation, anyway.”

“Pods are rigged to kill you when you die in simulation.” Virgil explained. “Beetle’s hacked in to make sure that doesn’t happen. But he can’t stall forever.”

“So you need me to get out, get the League, and then track down who's doing this.”

“If necessary.” Jaime answered, the projection disappearing as he spoke, “Whoever’s running this may be connected to this base via cable, or very close by, given how fast signals attenuate underwater. If you can find and stop them without the League...”

“The team will be safe much sooner. Got it,” La’gaan said walking to the door and looking at Bart. “Ready when you are, chum.”

Bart nodded, pushed himself up, and walked over to La’gaan. The fact that Virgil had never seen Bart walk before was reason enough to worry. But after he had pulled La’gaan through the door and didn’t come back, sent Virgil’s concern through the roof.

The only thing that kept Virgil from rushing the door was that he had two friends still in the pods, and Jaime didn’t look any more worried, than he had been before Bart left. With the bug, Virgil figured that Jaime would know and react if something went wrong.

It felt like forever until that assumption was rewarded and Bart vibrated back through the door. He took two steps before collapsing face down on the floor, breathing hard.

Virgil rushed over to him. 

“Are you okay?”

Bart gave a thumbs up. Took two more harsh breaths and then spoke very roughly.

“Totally crash..... Just got..... To catch..... breath.” 

“Alright.” Virgil said putting his hand on Bart’s shoulder, “You did good.”

Bart slowly rolled himself onto his back and smiled at Virgil. Virgil returned the grin and looked back to Jaime who was also giving him a relieved grin. 

This time the lingering silence wasn’t tense. At least not until it was broken by Jaime.

“Shit.”

“What?”

At Virgil’s question the project popped back up over Jaime’s head. And Virgil could seen Tye and Cassie facing an older white man with white hair, beard, and suit. He looked familiar.

“It’s gotten a little boring don’t you think?” He said allowing Virgil to easily recognize him as the Architect from the Matrix.  

“So who are you?” Cassie asked, with a confident smirk that told Virgil that she probably also knew who the character was.

“The name’s Control Freak,” he answered. “But you can call me your worst nightmare.”

Control Freak grinned, and his appearance shifted from the Architect to Freddy Krueger. He raised a clawed hand and gave a menacing laugh.

Cassie just giggled in response. “That is so corny.”

Control Freak glowered at Cassie and Tye. “I will show you fear.”

Tye just shrugged and sat against the wall. “Sorry dude I’m not part of this team and I am not interested in this stupid training.” 

Cassie watched him leave with a shrug. “Don’t worry, I’m more than enough to handle you.”

“One on one then.” Control Freak said with a smile. “This will be easy.”

He launched himself at Cassie who easily blocked his bladed glove with her bracer. But he moved too quickly for her to return the attack. They just danced across the room, sparks flying each time Control Freak’s claws were deflected.

“KF?”

“I see it,” Bart answered, trying and failing to push himself into a sitting position.

Virgil watched him fail again, breathing heavy before asking, “Plan B?”

“I’ve got several easy rooms laid out as an escape but-”

If Cassie and Tye didn’t take them, Virgil knew that there would be nothing Jaime could do. Judging by Jaime’s clenched fist, and Bart finally forcing himself to a sitting position, they both knew it too.

“Fine you’re good at one on one,” Control Freak said pulling Virgil’s attention back to the projection. “So let’s change the odds.”

Control Freak twisted, and split into four separate Jurassic Park velociraptors. Each one screeched at Cassie before jumping at her.

The room was too small for her to fly far enough away to avoid them. And she was only able to block two at a time with her bracers. Virgil watched with a falling heart as one got her leg and slammed her to the floor. Three then pounced on her keeping her pinned while the forth landed on her chest.

“Any last words?” it, Control Freak said, as he looked down on her with a toothy grin. 

Cassie rolled her eyes. “I’m just sad you couldn’t beat me with real raptors, you know with feathers.”

Control Freak snorted. “Feathered dinosaurs aren't accurate to the movie’s lore, and that’s a good thing. Feathers aren’t scary enough to-”

He was cut off at Tye’s glowing form slammed all the raptors off of Cassie. He didn’t waste a moment before shrinking, grabbing Cassie’s hand, and pulling her through the easy rooms that Jaime had set up. Not even flinching as the door to each previous room slammed shut behind them.

“What the?” Cassie asked when Tye finally slowed. “I thought you were content to let me fight. To get out of the simulation faster.”

“That was when you convinced me that Jaime was running it.”

“What changed?”

“The escaped and angry emu that he saw when we were in 6th grade. Believe me, “feathers aren’t scary” isn’t an argument he’d ever make.”

“So what now?” Cassie asked, “Do we just keep going through the maze?”

“I don’t know.”

Jaime sighed and the projection split. On the right Virgil could see Cassie and Tye moving and solving puzzles. On the left he could see Control Freak, now in the form of Darth Vader, cutting holes in the doors and shouting “Here’s Darth-ey” as he got through each one.

It was after the third room that he stopped and glared at nothing.

“How did they get every single easy room. That’s not how this is supposed to work.”

Control Freak froze, and seconds later the projection disappeared.

“Blue!” Bart shouted and struggled to stand. 

Virgil could feel the electricity in the air. His heart sank, but a glance at both Tye and Cassie showed they were fine. But Jaime still hadn’t responded.

Virgil could see the electricity from the computer spark off of Jaime’s armor while Jaime just stood, rigid and unmoving.

He didn’t hesitate in grabbing Jaime, absorbing the current that now flowed the the both of them, and pulling him away from the computer.

The armor detached, and Virgil felt Jaime fall as his knees gave out. Virgil maneuvered as best as he could to keep Jaime from crashing to the ground. Slowing his fall was the best that he could until Jaime’s knees hit the ground and he curled forward over his arm. Virgil could see him shaking now, the armor was no longer stopping it.

Virgil knelt in front of Jaime and placed both hands on his shoulders. “Dude, are you okay?” 

“I - I can’t - I can’t help them.” Jaime said, his voice brittle.

“They’re going to be alright. Okay? They are.”

Jaime didn’t argue back. But he also didn’t stop shaking. And in the silence that followed he could hear both Jaime’s shaking breaths and Bart’s rapid ones. 

Virgil found himself looking from Cassie’s pod near the door to Tye’s by the now slightly melted computer. He wondered if he could repeat what Jaime did for him, while absorbing enough electricity to keep them safe. Or at least one of them. With Control Freak in the simulation, paying attention to things being weird, if one left the other would die. And Virgil wouldn’t have enough time to run from one pod to the other. 

So all he could do was stand in the middle of the room, quickly glancing at each circuit with the toxic gas and preparing to try to pull out whoever it activated on first. 

So when the pods began to open, Virgil couldn’t help but jump, even though the circuit with the toxin was never activated.

Virgil hesitated briefly, he exchanged a look with Bart who had managed to stand and was waiting by the foot of Cassie’s pod before heading over to Tye.

Tye opening his eyes, pulling off his mask, and sitting up was the best thing that Virgil had seen all day. 

Tye looked at him, “don’t you or Jaime _ever_ do something like that to me again.”

Virgil reached down and pulled Tye out of the pod while enveloping him in a hug.

“Dude, I’m still mad,” Tye said pushing away. 

“But the pods are-” Virgil started sheepishly, dropping the hug.

“No longer electrified. Lagoon Boy held up our exit so that he could explain everything. He thought you guys were watching.”

“We lost the signal after Control Freak-”

Virgil could see the moment that Tye noticed the partially melted computer. And he saw Tye’s anger melt into worry as his eyes fell on Jaime, who was still kneeling, hunched over his arm and shaking.

Virgil stepped aside and Tye ran to Jaime’s side. Jaime leaned against him and let Tye wrap his arms around him.

“Are you-”

“I’m okay.” Jaime answered softly.

Tye pulled Jaime into a tighter hug. “Don’t you _ever_ do something like that again.”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t make that promise.”

Tye didn’t argue with Jaime, but Virgil could see him starting to shake. He could see tears starting to from in the corners of his eyes. 

So he looked away, and caught Cassie’s gaze.

“You lost signal?” she asked.

“Yeah. What happened?”

“La’gaan hit Control Freak on the back of his head as he played on his computer hunting us down.” Cassie said smiling. “He’s tied up and La’gaan is keeping watch in a second base not too far from here. Then after turning off the death traps he took control of Control Freak’s avatar, and told us everything. Guess he expected that you’d get the message too.” 

Virgil shrugged. “Well we have it now.”

“Yeah you do,” Cassie said. There was a second of silence before her eyes went wide. “Oh yeah, he also got in touch with the team. The Bioship is on the way.”

Home. Virgil couldn’t wait to go home and get away from this place. But a glance back at Tye and Jaime told him that getting away from this place might require time more than distance.

  
  
  



End file.
